Can-opener.



W. EDGE & A. H. JONES.

CAN OPENER.

APPUCATION FILED JUNE 9. 1914.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

'tion substantially on the line 5, 5, in Fig. 2.

, will be more view thereof; Fig. 3 is UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM EDGE, OF NEWARK, AND ALLAN H. JONES, OF EAST ORANGE, NEXV JERSEY.

CAN-OTEENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13. 1915.

Application filed June 9, 1914. Serial No. 843,953.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, NILLiAM Enos and ALLAN Hermon Jones, citizens of the United States, and residents of Newark, Essex county, New Jersey, and East Orange, Essex county, New Jersey, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and efficient device capable of cutting the tops off of tin cans, and the like, with facility.

The invention comprises novel details of improvement and combinations of parts that fully hereinafter set forthand then pointed out inthe claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein, Figure l is a. side elevation of a can opener embodying this invention, Fig. 2 is a plan an enlarged detail section of the upper portion of the device; Fig. 4 is a similarview of the lower portion of the device, and Fig. 5 is a detail sec- Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

At one is indicated a suitable frame, having an upper laterally disposed arm 1, and centrally beneath said arm the frame 1 provided with a guide or bore 2. Frame 1 is adaptedto be secured against a. Wall or other support, as bymeans of screws passing through suitable holes in the frame.

At 3 is a rotative disk. having depending projections or pins 4 suitably spaced apart, adapted to enter the top of a can for rotating the latter. Disk 3 is showncarried by a hub 6 provided with a bevel gear 7 meshing with a pinion 8 on shaft 9, having a crank 9, suitably journaled in a bearing 10 on arm 1, whereby when said shaft is rotated the projections or pins 4: respondingly rotated.

At 10 is a support or shelf for the can 5. rotativelysupported upon the upper end of a rod ll shown provided with a rack 12,

will be chrand guided in a hearing or bore 2, the axis of rod 11 and of support or shelf 10 being in vertical. alinement with the axis of a gear 7 and p ojections or pins 4.

A shaft 13 is journaled on the lower arm of frame 1 and carries a gear 14 meshing with rack 12, said shaft being provided with 'portion of the can At 20'is an arm or lever pivotally supported, as at 21, upon arm 1*, in such position as to be swung toward and from can 5. By preference, :1 spring 22 bears against arm 1 and arm or lever 20 to normally retain the latter away from the can. Arm or lever 20 carries a cutter 23, preferably two-edged, and pointed, as shown, to be readily pressed into the side of the can. Arm 20 also carries an abutment flliminediately above knife 23. Said cutter and abutment are shown seated in a recess 20 in the top of arm .20, and in the example illustrated a screw 25, passing through holes in knife 23 and abutment 24 and meshing in threads in arm 20, secures said knife and abutment firmly to said arm.

\Vhen the can opener is to be used, the rod 11. and support 10 are sulliciently lowered to enable the can to be centered on support 10, and then crank 15 is rotated to cause the parts 1.0, ll and the.can to be'raiscd, whereby the can top is pushed against projectionsor pins'l to cause the latter to pierce and entcr the can top. Arm or lever 2Q may then 'be swung toward the can, and pushed so that the cutter 23 enters the side of the can, and the abutment 24 bears against thelcan to control the position of the knife in the can, the arm and knife being suitably held by the hand. and then crank 9 is rotated, whereby with the gear and projections or pins 4 the can is rotated against the cutter which causes the upper to be out, as upon the line fr in Fig. 1. By this means the top portion of the can may be cut away and lifted or swung from the can. The arrangement provides cans of varying heights and widths, and the position and operation of the arm or lever 20 enables the cutting off of the tops of cans that are round as well as other shapes, such as rectangular, since the arm or lever 20 may be caused. to follow ,the contour of the can, the abutment 24 being held with proper pressure against the silk of the can. After the can top has been cut, as described,

for cutting the tops ell (H they parts 10, 11 and the ean may be lowered by first lifting the dog 16 from'gear 14.

The improvements described are simple and relatively cheap to manufacture, may be readily operated, and avoid danger of the operator'being out by the can when its top is being severed. 1

Having now describedour invention what we claim is 1. A can opener comprising a frame, a can support, means upon the frame for raising and lowering said support and holding it in set 'positionja gear rotativelyrarried by the frame above said support, projections depending from the gear to enter a can top, means to rotate said gear, an arm carried by the frame at one side of the projections adapted to move toward and from the side of the can, and a cutter carried by said arm adapted to enter the side of the can.

2. A can opener comprising a frame, a can support, means upon the frame for raising and lowering said supportand holding it in set position, a gear rotatively carried by the 'frame above said support, projections depending from the gear to enter a can top, means to rotate said gear, an arm carricd by frame at one side of the projections adapted to move toward and from the side of the can, and a cutter carried by said arm adapted to enter the side of? the can, said arm having an abutment adjacent to said cutter to engage the side of the can to regulate the entry of the cutter into the can.

3.A can opener comprising a frame, a can support, means upon the frame for raising and lowering said support and holding it in set position, a gear rotatively carried by the frame above said support, projectionsdepending from the gear to enter a can top, means to rotate said gear, an arm carried by the frame at one side of the projections adapted to move toward and fromthe side of a can, a cutter seated upon and extending transversely of the arm toward the can, an abutment located against and above the cutter to engage the can side, the cutter extending farther from the arm than the abutment and means securing said cutter and abutment together ,upon said arm.

4. A can opener comprising a frame, a can support, means upon the frame for raising L nd lowering said support and holding it in set position, a gear rotatively carried by the frame above said support, pro ections depending from the gear to enter a can top, means torotate said gear, an arm carried by the frame at one side of the projections adapted to move toward and from the side of a can, said arm having a recess, a cutter and an abutment In said recess, the

abutment extending toward the can beyond the arm, and 'the cutter extending beyond the abutment toward the can, and means securing the\ cutter and abutment in said recess.

5. A can openercomprising a framevhaving an upper laterally disposed arm, a gear journaledupon said arm, projections depending from the gear to enter a can top, means upon the arm to rotate said gear, a horizontal arm pivotally supported from the first named arm 'to swing laterally relatively to the can, a cutter carried by the second named arm and projecting laterally therefrom .toward the can, said frame having a bearing axially disposed beneath the cutter,a rod guided in said bearing, a can support swivelled upon said rod, and means ,to retain said rod in set positions of elevation.

6, A can opener comprising a frame having an upper laterally disposed arm, a gear journaled upon said arm, projections depending from the gear to-enter a can top, means upon the arm to rotatev said gear, a horizontal arm pivotally'supported from the first named arm to swing laterally relatively to the can, a cutter carried by the second named arm and projecting laterally therefrom toward the can, said frame hav ing a bearing axially disposed beneath the cutter, a rod guided in said bearing-and provided with a rack, a pinion journaled upon said frame and engaging said rack, a

crank to rotate said gear,,,a dog to engage said gear to retain the rod and can support "f'iirset positions of elevation, and means movably supporting said dog upon said frame.

Signed'at Newark in the county 9f Essex and State of New Jersey this sixteenth day of May A. D. 1914.

WILLIAM EDGE. ALLAN H. JONES.

Witnesses. I

Geo. O, TQTTEN, THOMAS W. EDWARDS, 

